by DSS Public Affairs Specialist Eric Weiner
On March 17, 2025, the Peruvian Prosecutor’s Office Against Organized Crime obtained a 32-year prison sentence for Marco Antonio Piscoche for organized crime and human smuggling. Piscoche is finally facing justice thanks to a multi-year collaboration between the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS), Peruvian National Police, and the Peruvian Prosecutor’s Office Against Organized Crime.
In 2017, DSS special agents and investigators at the U.S. Embassy in Peru analyzed non-immigrant visas issued to Peruvian citizens and discovered that more than 120 applicants obtained U.S. visas using services fraudulently provided by Peruvian citizen Marco Antonio Piscoche.
DSS further investigated with our Peruvian National Police partners and learned that Piscoche had provided hundreds of applicants with fake documents to apply for U.S. visas, and he also smuggled illegal aliens from Peru into the United States through Mexico.
The Peruvian Prosecutor’s Office Against Organized Crime further revealed that Piscoche was previously arrested in Nicaragua for trafficking children before leading a criminal enterprise of bribing immigration officials and charging illegal aliens approximately $15,000 to obtain a valid U.S. visa or be smuggled into the United States.
When the Peruvian National Police arrested Piscoche and members of his criminal network, Piscoche had laundered more than $1.3 million from a front company before his criminal enterprise came to an end in 2020.
This investigation exemplifies how DSS frequently works with our partners overseas to combat transnational crimes like human smuggling, apprehend fugitives, protect the integrity of U.S. borders, prevent visa fraud, and counter illegal immigration.
DSS operates at more than 270 U.S. diplomatic posts in over 170 countries and more than 30 U.S. cities. DSS investigators are uniquely positioned to disrupt and dismantle transnational criminal networks and prevent individuals from fraudulently acquiring U.S. travel documents to illicitly cross U.S. borders.